 By Staff
March 9th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
These guys
 Heavy construction equipment in place to dig trenches and prepare the necessary parts of the infrastructure. There are 12 pieces of heavy equipment ready to dig.
Are the reason this part of Lakeshore Road between Elizabeth and Pearl have to be closed. Concrete pipes have to be put underground. Announcement from city says road will be closed from the 7th to the 11th.
We are chasing down city hall to get confirmation on those dates.
When it is all done – this is what it is going to look like.
 The Bridgewater project – made up of two condominiums and a Marriott hotel is scheduled to be completed in 2018 – between now and then there will be all kinds o squawking about road closures and inconvenience – the price of progress.
 By Staff
March 9, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Do you know of another city that closes down a road so a slimy little creature that tends to breed at night can cross that road?
It happens in Burlington every year in March.
King Road from the base of the Niagara Escarpment to Mountain Brow Road will be closed from March 15 to April 6 to allow the endangered Jefferson Salamander safe passage during its annual breeding migration.
 The Jefferson salamander – He isn’t exactly pretty but nevertheless plays an important role in the local environment. Comes in different colours as well. The Jefferson Salamander is a nationally and provincially protected endangered species. Each year, since 2012, the City of Burlington has closed the same section of road for an approximate three-week period.
The city works closely with Conservation Halton to assist in the protection and recovery of this endangered species.
 “Conservation Halton commends the City of Burlington for closing King Road once again to protect the Jefferson Salamander, this is a great example of the relationship we have with our community partners,” said Hassaan Basit, General Manager, Conservation Halton. “It can be challenging to determine when is the best time to close King Road as spring weather can be unpredictable, particularly this year, however we feel confident based on the advice of our ecology staff who make the call on the best science and information available.”
 One of these was enough for the people in rural Burlington. One of the reasons for not permitting an expansion of the quarry was the impact that would have on an engendered species.
The Jefferson Salamander is quite a bit more than an endangered species. A provincial tribunal made a decision a number of years ago to not allow the expansion of the Nelson quarry due in large part to the impact any expansion would have on the existence of the salamander.
In Canada, the Jefferson Salamander is found in Southern Ontario in select areas of deciduous forest, mostly along the Niagara Escarpment. Several forested areas in Burlington provide the necessary breeding, summer and overwintering habitats required by this species.
Jefferson Salamanders spend the majority of their lives underground. As the weather warms up and the spring rains begin, the salamanders emerge and migrate to breed in temporary ponds formed by run-off, laying their eggs in clumps attached to underwater vegetation. Adults leave the ponds after breeding. By late summer, the larvae lose their gills and become air-breathing (like the metamorphosis of tadpoles into frogs) and leave the pond to head into the surrounding forests.
Adult salamanders migrate to their breeding ponds in mid-March or early April during wet rainy nights. They show strong affinity for the pond in which they hatched and can be very determined to reach it, sometimes requiring them to cross busy roads.
 By Staff
March 9th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Police responded to a report of a robbery yesterday at a Shoppers Drug Mart store located at 1011 Upper Middle Road in Oakville. A male entered the store and demanded prescription drugs from staff who handed over a large quantity of narcotics. The suspect then left the store without further incident.
Subsequent investigation resulted in the arrest of an Oakville resident who investigators believe is responsible for similar robberies in Oakville and Burlington.
February 21st 2016 – Brant Medical Arts Centre located at 672 Brant Street in Burlington.
February 12th 2016 – Pharma Save store located at 2501 Guelph Line Burlington.
January 28th 2016 – Shoppers Drug Mart located at 1011 Upper Middle Road Oakville.
Investigators also executed a search warrant at a North Oakville address and seized a large quantity of prescription pain killers, notably OxyNEO or Oxycodone. Other items related to the robberies were also seized.
Charged with 4 counts of Robbery and Wear Disguise is:
Richard MATHERS, 36 years of Oakville.
MATHERS has been held in custody for a pending bail hearing.
 By Pepper Parr
March 8th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
He bought the place in 1980 – when it was a 5000 square foot operation.
 It was an emotional day for Jack Dennison – he announced cedar Springs had been sold. This afternoon Jack Dennison announced the sale of the Cedar Springs Health and Racquet Club to Ivan Bradiaric, a Burlington businessman and property owner who has been a member of the club for more than ten years.
Dennison, in what was an emotional occasion for him, was reluctantly passing on the torch to someone who will immediately begin refurbishing the look of the lobby and making better use of the space.
The sale of the property closed on March 1st – why? The place was limping – it needed a freshening up and the corporation needed to make better use of the land.
 A wistful Jack Dennison look on as the new Cedar Springs owner rolls up hi sleeve the grow the business. Bradiaric has property holdings in the immediate area and he thinks he can do some cross marketing to boost the club’s membership – and – most importantly – see if he can get a zoning change to build a condominium at the south end of the property and tie it into the club.
Bradioaric said he expect to spend between $1 million and $1.5 million on upgrades that will be part of a new concept. He wasn’t prepared to say just what he had in mind other than to add that membership had become stagnant and he believed there was significant growth potential.
What happens to Jack? Well he is an avid sports person; he talks about more time for tennis and doing some cycling when the weather is better.
The club grew sort of “topsy turvey” in Jack’s hands. While Dennison earned an MBA at McMaster he brought his own unique management style to his business operations – much the way he brings his unique style to the seat he holds on city council.
 More cycling time – that’s it? Dennison was in the habit of holding his community meetings at the club where he consistently served popcorn and water to those who attended.
The sale of the club may surprise many – it’s something Dennison has been working at lining up for some time.
It was a tough emotional day for him.
March 8, 2016
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON
We knew it as the location of the Riviera.
The Riviera Motor Court began operations in 1963. The two level, 32-room motel offered guests a beautiful view of Lake Ontario along the back portion of the motel.
The earliest information for a manager was a Mr. William Dikeman. In 1984 the motel was bought by Mr. John Lee who incorporated it as 558644 Ontario Limited.
 The Riviera on the Lake – lots of stories. The last managers to operate the business were Peter and Yolanda Piekarski. Annual profits were in the area of $242,000.
 The balconies at the rear of the motel made the room rate worth every dime. There was nothing exceptional about the motel – it was the view of the lake from the units at the back of the building.
The 0.7-hectare, block-long property between Elizabeth and Pearl streets just east of Brant was assembled over time. The Lakeshore Road portion was part of a land swap that had the city giving some land in exchange for a shoreline walkway at the edge of the lake which has been in place for a number of years.
 When you reach the 70% plus level in sales you don’t need a fancy demonstration site – it had to make room for the construction equipment. In 2006, Burlington city council approved plans for a new construction project on the property. The project, now known as Bridgewater, has been delayed over the years due to economic factors as well as difficulty in obtaining a developer and hotel partner.
 Construction workers stripping away what is left of the sales office for the Btidgewater project on Lakeshore Road. Bridgewater was to have a 7-storey hotel at street level, that got increased to eight storeys; a 7-storey condo behind the hotel and to the west of both buildings, a 22-storey condo. The condo would obscure the view of Lake Ontario for those living in the condos on the opposite side of Lakeshore. The new buildings would feature a central courtyard open to the public that would lead to the walkway along the water.
The property is owned by Mayrose Tycon who, since 1994, were focused on finding a developer to undertake the construction and to take over the property.
Mady Development Corporation was named but they were taken off the site due to a tricky clause in their agreement with Mayrose Tycon.
 The motel is long gone but the walkway that will eventually run from this point all the way to the canal was built a number of years ago as part of a land swap with the city. The project was “in the works” for the longest time; Conservation Halton had informed Mayrose that if development did not occur on the property by the end of 2012 they would lose between 15 to 20 feet of shoreline property under a new Ontario Regulation.
That got things moving – Mayrose had to get an extension from the Conservation people but that didn’t immediately result in shovels in the ground. It wasn’t until New Horizons was invited to develop the site that one got the sense that this was really going to happen.
Jeff Paikin, known for quality work with a number of solid projects under his belt.
Paikin had bought a unit in the project and was later invited to do the development.
It has been nothing but solid progress since then. Sales of the project are reported to have passed the 70% point. There will a planned 150 units in the two condominium towers.
A collection of 12 pieces of heavy duty construction equipment are on the site – they give a whole new meaning to “shovels in the ground” Paikin’s partner Joe Giacomodonato handles the actual construction work.
At one point the hotel was going to be open for the Pan Am Games in 2015.
As for the Riviera the writing was on the wall in 2010. They began offering rooms on a monthly basis only. The Region of Burlington paid Riviera to house the city’s homeless people and immigrants.
In April of 2012 the municipal building code department and fire department served a notice on the owners that they needed to bring the building up to code or close it down.
The owners decided to close the building which was boarded up.
On August 18, 2012, the building came one step closer to demolition when a fire broke out in the hotel, caused by arson.
The 2015 Pan Am date came and went; the designated developer of the site changed but the project had just too much value built into it to not go forward.
 Three structure project has been the “in the works” since the early 1990’s when developers were given the right to build a 22 storey plus building on the property where the Riviera Waterfront Motel used to exist. Last week the sleek sales office met its turn with the wrecking ball. The south side of Lakeshore Road lost its parking meters and traffic is being restricted for a couple of weeks while large concrete pipes get buried. What was the Riviera is now the construction site for an upscale condominium that will consist of a seven story and a twenty two story structure attached to each other by a four level underground garage.
The site will include a four star Mariott hotel – the opening date is still pencilled in as 2018 – those things tend to be pretty loose until construction is well under way.
The four floors down garage work will get started soon; the grade of Elizabeth will change and slowly but surely the Bridgewater will rise out of the ground and reach 22 storeys into the sky.
 An architectural rendering of an aerial view of the Bridgewater project from the lake side. The view from the top floor be something to experience.
Paikin, who is a marketer at heart will tell anyone who is within earshot that : “The design is so fantastic and the location is probably the No. 1 location in all of Ontario, if not Canada, as a place to live.”
He might be right.
 By Pepper Parr
March 8th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Long time Burlington businessman and civic politician Jack Dennison announced today that he has sold the Cedar springs Health and Racquet Club to Ivan Bradiaric who ill continue the club’s operations while he works through the concept he wants for an enhanced operation.
 Ivan Bradiaric rolls up his sleeves to take on the mammoth task of refurbishing the Cedar Springs Health Club. A whist-full Jack Dennison looks on. More to follow.
February 11, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
My colleague, Joan Little, a former Burlington alderman and Halton councillor, writes a regular column for the Hamilton Spectator. We share a table in Council chambers reserved for media.
More often than not, it is just me from the Gazette and Joan from the Spectator – the Post gets a reporter to about half of the meetings.
Little and I share views on what we see taking place – we use each other to check on what we thought a council member said – we confirm with each other how a member voted – there are a couple that you would swear did not want the public to know how they had voted.
In her most recent column, Little wrote the following:
Monday saw the end of the online Burlington Gazette. (Not completely correct Joan – but do read on.)
Burlington’s online news and opinion journal has been produced by resident Pepper Parr for over five years, initially as Our Burlington. Although a resident for under six years, he seems to know almost everyone in the city and at City Hall.
Mayor Goldring once described the Gazette as almost better than sliced bread – he has changed his mind about the Gazette and the Gazette changed its mind about him.
 This is what the original Burlington Gazette office on Brant Street used to look like. The demise of the Gazette is sad, because the outspoken Parr always evoked interesting feedback, and left Burlingtonians with something to mull over. He seemed to be everywhere — city hall meetings, community activities, even sports and arts events. And he strongly promoted local endeavours.
But litigation takes its toll. Always outspoken, Parr regularly made on-the-edge observations. Whether actually litigious, only a court could rule, but he upset companies and individuals enough to attract two challenges over the years, neither of which has been heard yet, according to Parr. They cost money for consultations with lawyers.
He had been increasing the Gazette’s advertising revenue recently, but the time needed, and the confluence of the cost of running an online journal and defending against legal threats took its toll.
One company suing is Burlington Executive Air Park, which itself was sued in 2013 by the City over the amount of fill it imported to its Bell School Line site. The City claimed importation of fill is covered by its site alteration bylaw. The Air Park said it was exempt because airports are under federal jurisdiction. Burlington initially won, but the issue is still before the courts as the result of appeals.
Besides the Gazette, North Burlington citizens Monte Dennis and Vanessa Warren were also sued for comments they made. Dennis wrote a Letter to the Editor to the Spectator in response to a submission by Air Park’s Vince Rossi. The Rural Greenbelt Coalition is raising money to help fund their defence.
Another recent corporate threat was from Adi Development Group. Adi is proposing the 26-storey condo at Martha and Lakeshore, which is the subject of a March OMB hearing.
Adi demanded an apology for comments in two November columns which it claimed damaged its reputation. The apology appeared Monday, and the offending columns were retracted.
A question that troubles citizen activists and journalists is whether they might become the targets of libel chill (the threat of being sued for libel to shut them up). Having a second pair of eyes check columns before publication is a plus. On one occasion my Spec editor was concerned about a column’s content, and cautioned me. Grateful for the advice, I amended it, or could have been in that situation.
Ontario passed legislation in October, “The Protection of Public Participation Act”, aimed at protecting against SLAPP suits (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation). It reduces the risk of suits (which are often dropped before getting to trial anyway) and fast tracks the process.
Unfortunately it won’t help Dennis or Warren, because they were sued before this legislation was passed. Such suits can cost defendants thousands. How many people have that kind of spare change?
Meantime Parr has shut down the Burlington Gazette. Asked what he will do now, he said he wasn’t sure, but is considering a couple of options, and will enjoy expanded participation in his church community.
Burlington owes him a debt of gratitude for demystifying some of the operations of city hall, and for providing a local sounding board.
Clearly disappointed, he noted that one of the main things he tried to do was educate citizens about how City Hall works, and how to effectively present their positions. In that, he succeeded brilliantly.
He definitely knows more about the internal workings of City Hall than most people as the result of investigations he’s done. And he has acted in the past as a consultant for small business.
Who knows? He could show up on a council ballot.
Little got most of it right. The Gazette has not shut down – it has just limited what it publishes for a very short period of time.
The apology we were required to publish, if we wanted to avoid a very expensive libel suit, which we thought we could win but could not afford to fight, was to be the top story on the paper for a period of forty – eight hours.
If we published our usual daily volume that apology would have been shoved off the front page with a day or two. So we published very little – and let the apology – that we didn’t write, got top billing.
That 48 hours is coming to an end and we will get caught up.
However – and this is critical – the Gazette needs to change its financial model if it is to continue and find a way to get more advertising into the paper so we can pay our bills and have a cookie jar with some fall back on cash.
I have put everything I had into the Gazette – it cost me a marriage that I did not want to see end and it requires me to move from the accommodation I have now to something that is closer to the pension money I get. It is going to be bumpy for a while
 By the publisher
February 9th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The comments have been gratifying – than you.
A number of people have asked if there was not some way I could continue with the endeavour.
The Gazette needed funding. We believed we could become financially sustainable by selling advertising space – and we did sell some.
I just wasn’t able to both cover the editorial events, write the copy and sell advertising.
The lack of a personal income that would cover my basic living costs has put me in a situation where I have to move from the space I live in and re-focus my personal life.
Without adequate working capital – it just wasn’t possible to keep it alive – right now my focus is on keeping myself alive. There were a number of opportunities that just didn’t work out – people weren’t able to do what they thought or wanted to do.
 Saud and Tarif Adi. Is there a relationship between the Adi development Group Libel notice? Your damn right there was. They didn’t have a case – and I didn’t have the dollars to fight them.
Another day? Perhaps. I am not the only person who has been bullied by this developer.
While the Gazette is no longer able to attend events and write reports, I do feel a responsibility to expand on what happened.
The following was sent to me earlier today by a colleague. No one wants to put their name on anything any more – we learned that from the Air Park libel case which should see the inside of a court room in the near future.
“I sent an inquiry to a friend who used to practice law – he of course recommends that you hire a lawyer (which he is no longer) – but he said he’d be interested in taking a look at the articles for which you have been served.
I hope you don’t mind – I just told him what I saw on the Gazette site plus inquired about SLAPP. Here is his comment…
” I will have to look into this a bit, please send me the article and any other information you can (statement of claim of the plaintiffs) if available.
“Generally, the law of libel in Canada favours the defendant. There is special protection for fair comment by professional journalists. Unless the plaintiffs are specifying particular damages, these matters can usually be settled by a commitment from the defendant to publish a suitable apology in the publication. The plaintiff is required to prove specific damages in a libel suit. This is unlike slander where no damages have to be proved.
These protections existed before and on top of SLAPP legislation. I will have to look at that law to see if they are altered in anyway and what is involved in invoking SLAPP.
However, bottom line, I do not believe your publisher can avoid hiring a lawyer.
Keep in mind that I am no longer a lawyer (I resigned from the Law Society long ago). Anything I say is not to be taken as legal advice, and your publisher should not act upon it without first consulting a lawyer competent in the field.”
I am just not in a position to hire a lawyer – the one I have hired is gracious when it comes to paying invoices.
There is a considerable amount of documentation related to the Adi Notice of Libel that we will publish in the next few days. The least we can do is let our readers see a fuller picture.
The issue for the Adi’s was what we wrote about their Nautique project – a planned 26 story tower at the intersection of Martha and Lakeshore Road. The city knew it had a problem on its hands the day they first learned of the project. While Council – meeting as a city council, didn’t get chance to vote on the project – council had made its views known – the building was too high – the lot was too small.
There appeared to be a consensus which got put in doubt when a reader sent us the following.
 The Ontario Municipal Board hearing at which Adi will ask that there project be approved takes place in March.
The comments made by our readers are worth your time. They give you a glimpse of how media works and doesn’t work in Burlington.
By Pepper Parr
February 6th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The weather is working for them, the construction time line is a little ahead of schedule and Rodger Park is a happy man.
Trucks are rolling in with concrete and flatbeds haul rebar onto the site of the five tower Paradigm on Fairview right beside the Burlington GO station.
A full crew of workers is distributed amongst three of the towers at the back of the property where they are either digging into the shale, laying out rebar, doing concrete pours or stripping away the forms on concrete that has been poured.
 Rigger Ryan Vandermeer maneuvers a cement bucket for loading. Two cranes swing through their arc lifting a load of rebar rods or hoisting a big bucket of concrete. John Caronello is handling the big crane on tower A on the west side of the construction site while his rigger Ryan Vandermeer keeps in constant communication.
Some of the concrete mixing trucks carry 9 metres of concrete while others are limited to 8 metres – it is all subject to quality control testing. They don’t leave much to chance.
Wael Deiab scoots around the site with pails of concrete that he is testing for consistency, air content and compression. Nothing fancy about the lab he works in – outdoors where he pushes concrete into a cylinder where it will stay for testing – which gets done at the three day, seven day and 28 day time frames.
 Wael Deiab pours concrete samples into canniters and tests it for consistency. Deiab, who works LandTek, the company that does the concrete quality testing, drops in on a site and randomly chooses concrete that is being poured – fills his bucket and takes it away to a place out of the wind and starts his testing. Temperature of the concrete is included in the testing.
 Concrete being loaded for a pour on tower B at the Paradigm site on Fairview Tower A, on the west side of the site, reported to be sold out, has its two parking levels completed – they are now working on the ground floor.
Jason Park, who backs up his Dad, Rodger Park quietly checks on what is being done – he tends not to look you in the eye – he is constantly watching to be sure that things are going the way they are supposed to go.
How much concrete will be used in this five tower project – Jason doesn’t have a clue – he doesn’t care where it comes from either – just as long as it arrives on time.
 Concrete can come from any one of four locations in the Burlington area – 8 to 9 square metres at a time The concrete can come from any number of locations – the driver of the truck is the guy who cares about where he is going to be driving to next.
It’s a Friday, the site will shut down for the weekend – on balance it has been a good week.
The schedule is being met – three buildings all going up at the same time – each in various stages of completion.
It gets a little boring after a while said Jason – we put up forms, pour concrete, strip away the forms and move on to the next level he explains.
The elevator shaft for building A is coming together – one can get a sense as to where the front entrance to the building is going to be.
The three towers at the back of the property are works in progress – the thinking for the smaller towers at the front closer to the street are part of the project – when construction on those towers actually begins is a market research exercise.
Sales of the units in towers A, and B are going very well. What the Molinaro’s are doing is creating a new community of 2000 people. There will be changes in the way that part of town works. Will the Paradigm pull the downtown core right up to Fairview – what impact will all those people have on the commercial sector.
One can expect a least a couple of restaurants for all those people. There will be some commercial space on the second floor of the two towers that will front on Fairview.
The Molinaro’s built the condominiums that line Lakeshore Road – and in the process defined the downtown core we have today.
Will the same thing happen to Fairview?
By Pepper Parr
February 4th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
“We’ve got to get the time line in place” explained Janine Stodulksi. “The funding for the bleachers is in the city’s capital budget – we don’t want to lose that” she added. “We have momentum going here” and when Stodulski has momentum – step aside.
 Janine Stodulski – she keeps things moving. She was talking through where things are with a community initiative to revitalize the Nelson Stadium, a facility on property that is owned by the city and the board of education – and where there are shared jurisdictions – you know there is going to be some friction.
The residents are hoping they can either jump over the jurisdictional issues or do an end run around them.
Six people gathered around a table in the Nelson High school library to go over what they knew and what they didn’t know and to line up their ducks and make something happen.
 Brad Scott, with Cogeco Cable and Jeff Brock with Nelson high taking part in a discussion on the plans their group have for significant improvements to the Nelson Stadium. Jeff Brock, who has Nelson High school football logos all over his laptop, looks at the numbers and suggests that bleacher seating for 700 will work. He thinks the sound system can be fixed.
Brad Scott, he’s with Cogeco, has been making calls to equipment suppliers and looking at prices – he didn’t like some of the numbers he was given.
Chris Zadow is the track and field guy and is working up a document that will show what the new footprint will look like when everything is done.
 Karen Hartman, principal at Nelson High school – explains what can be done and what can’t be done when working with the board of education. Karen Hartman, principal at Nelson, runs interference with the board of education and advises the group on what they might be able to get away with.
Tibor Olah, a soft spoken man, who is in real estate, has to move quickly to get a few words in edgewise.
Janine Stodulski, who serves as spokesperson for the group, is a driven woman who believes she has momentum and wants to see something happen. She is involved with one of the football leagues.
Their goal is a little on the lofty side but they aren’t going to let that deter them.
The Nelson Stadium facility is run down, tattered looking in places with facilities that need a serious upgrade.
They want to re-orient the racing track, add to lanes to the existing six, push back some bleachers on the south side and add a second set of bleachers on the other side of the field and get a decent press box in place.
 A community group made up of every imaginable Nelson Stadium user organization has plans for a much improved facility. They are currently working the city and the board of education and have their eyes on the Region. They see that world class velodrome in Milton and appear to want something just as good – better if Stodulski has her way – for Burlington.
The Haber Recreational Centre, joined at the hip to the Hayden high school has fabulous indoor courts – this group wants to see something as good behind Nelson high school – they want the location to be the place for Regional outdoor sports events.
The group sees upgrades coming at the Skyway facility in the east end of the city, the big, big upgrade done at Mountain side, the City View sports facility in the north east part of the city on Dundas – and note that much of the sports facility growth has been above the QEW – they want the something much better on New Street.
They have a grasp of the city budget that just might be better than that of some council members. They have figured out where their champions are at both the council level and within Parks and recreation – and they have strong connections within the community.
Their next round with the city is in April – it should be quite a delegation.
Odd though that the plans have yet to make it to a board of education level – and trustees don’t seem to have a clue at this point.
By Staff
February 4thj, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
This isn’t a Burlington story – but it helps understand how the identity thieves work – borders don’t matter to these guys.
An alert UPS driver was approached twice in the same day by a male looking to pick up a package from his truck destined for an address in the west end of Oakville on February 3rd 2016.
The UPS driver was suspicious of the identification the male produced, refused to confirm he had the package onboard his truck and continued on his deliveries.
 UPS driver didn’t like the look of the ID he was shown – calls the police who arrest a man found to have numerous fake identity cards. Later in day the male approached the driver a second time and the driver again refused to hand over the package, this time alerting police.
The suspect male was located by police in a vehicle parked in a parking lot at the Burlington/Oakville border, where he was arrested.
Multiple stolen credit cards and fraudulent identity were located in the vehicle.
Charged with Theft Under $5000, Possession of Counterfeit Mark, Unauthorized Use of Credit Card Data and Fail to Comply with Undertaking is:
Ikponmwosa OBAZEE 35yrs of Mississauga ON.
OBAZEE was held for a bail hearing on February 4th at Milton Provincial Court.
Police identified the contents of the package the accused wanted so badly – it was a product from an internationally known electronics Company.
The Regional Police have an excellent working relationship with UPS – when there is suspicion – the police get a call.
 By Staff
February 4th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It must be the weather – 16 degrees on an early February day. Yikes!
 The Burlington Bandits held up decently last year – is 2016 their year? It moved the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) to releasing its 2016 schedule which begins on Saturday, May 7 with three games – London at Burlington, Hamilton at Guelph and Kitchener at Barrie. The 2016 season will mark the IBL’s 98th season.
Each team will again play a 36-game schedule. The only scheduled doubleheaders are the two between Barrie and London. Weekends comprise a large majority of the schedule as 72% of the games will be played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (104 of the 144 games).
The IBL All-Star Game will again be held in Barrie on Saturday, July 2nd at 2:00 p.m.
 By Staff
February 4th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Power Restored at Parking Garage on Locust Street
Power to the parking garage at 414 Locust St. has been restored.
 By Pepper Parr
February 3, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
There is a bit of a kafuffle taking place over the idea of a new club house on the Nelson Stadium grounds.
 The Burlington Braves – who are about to roll up their tent and head for St. Catharines where they will start anew, have commented that with the Braves leaving town there is no need for a new club house.
That isn’t quite the way Janine Stodulski sees the refurbing of the stadium. She has her eye on a much bigger prize and is seeing far beyond a single organization using the space. Stodulski is the spokesperson for a collective of more than 20 sports groups who have come together to get a world class stadium for the city in behind Nelson high school.
 Early thinking for a refurbished Nelson Stadium They have made impressive yardage with the board of education and have strong working relationships with the parks and recreation department who seem to have found a number of pockets of money they can use to take the project forward.
There will be meeting rooms in the club house that other sports organizations can use and space for equipment storage.
 The existing press box is a hazard – Mayor said the stairs were unsafe two years ago – what did he do then? Not much There is talk of changing the orientation of the track and field area; getting a new press box in – Cogeco TV seems to be on for a big chunk of change for that structure.
The organizing group will be meeting this evening to update each other and prepare for their next meeting with city council.
The group is very much a go-go organization – if it is going to happen – they will make it so.
By Staff
February 4m 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Power Outage at Parking Garage on Locust Street
The parking garage at 414 Locust St is temporarily closed due to a power outage.
Hydro crews are on site.
The estimated time for repairs is not known at this time.
By Staff
February 3rd, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington – On Monday February 1st 2016 at 8:30pm the Halton Regional Police Service were alerted by staff at Longo’s located at 1225 Fairview St., to four individuals who attempted to make purchases in the store using multiple American counterfeit bills. The staff in the store became suspicious of the poor quality bills, denied service and contacted the police.
The four individuals exited the grocery store and fled to a waiting vehicle outside. The vehicle was subsequently stopped by police a short distance from the store, two adults and 3 young persons in the vehicle were arrested.
A quantity of counterfeit American currency, gift cards, stolen property and a small quantity of marihuana was located in the vehicle.
Charged:
Sicetus Olusola AKHINAGBA 18yrs of Brampton was charged with Fraud under $5000, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, Possession of Counterfeit Currency, Possession of a Controlled Substance and Obstruct Police. Akhinagba is to appear in Milton Provincial Court for a Bail Hearing on February 2nd 2016
Desiree DU CARMEN-PHELEMBA 18yrs of Toronto was charged with Fraud under $5000, Possession of Property Obtained by crime, Possession of Counterfeit Currency, Utter Counterfeit Currency and Possession of a Controlled Substance. DU CARMEN-PHELEMBA is to appear in Milton Provincial Court on March 9th 2016.
Three other individuals under the age of 18yrs were charged with various offences and released.
By Pepper Parr
February 3rd, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Whenever there is weather forecast that relates to rain –there are a lot of people in Burlington who pause – some even shudder.
Environment Canada is advising that our area will be experiencing rainfall amounts in the order of 15 to 25mm this evening and overnight. With partially frozen ground conditions and soils near saturation, water levels are expected rise.
 Widespread flooding is not anticipated, however there is potential for minor flooding of low-lying areas. Water levels in our reservoirs are low and storage is available to manage potential runoff within regulated systems.
Conservation Halton is asking all residents and children to stay away from watercourses and structures such as bridges, culverts and dams. Elevated water levels, fast flowing water, and slippery conditions along stream banks make these locations extremely dangerous. Please alert children in your care of these imminent dangers.
Conservation Halton will continue to monitor stream and weather conditions and will issue further messages as necessary.
Conservation Halton will issue an update to this Watershed Condition Statement – Water Safety Statement only if significant changes in the forecasts occur. This Watershed Condition Statement will be in effect through to Thursday February 4, 2016.
 By Pepper Parr
February 2, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
“In keeping with the Liberals’ commitment to ensuring an inclusive and open government” said the media release, “Burlington MP Karina Gould and Oakville North-Burlington MP Pam Damoff continued the Finance Minister’s collaborative approach to budget planning by participating in a large number of extensive pre-budget consultations across the ridings in January to gather input from a variety of individuals, groups and organizations on the key issues that should be addressed in the federal governments’ upcoming budget.”
In early January, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau officially launched the Government’s pre-budget consultations and called upon Canadians to share their thoughts on how to better support the middle class, create jobs, and set the right conditions for long-term prosperity and stronger economic growth.
 Burlington MP Karina Gould works very well with people – she listens well. Not widening the pre-budget consultations to include more than the stake holders might have been a lost opportunity. Throughout the month of January, Damoff and Gould participated in consultations with a large number of groups including both Oakville and Burlington Chambers of Commerce, the Town of Oakville and City of Burlington, the Region of Halton, representatives of local unions, businesses, social service providers as well as other local MPs and MPPs. They also invited all residents in their ridings to have their say on the budget through their Facebook and Twitter pages.
And that’s the rub – social media is not consulting with people; it’s sort of like a placebo – something you put in place hoping that the person swallowing the medicine will never know that it isn’t the real thing.
The input the local MPs received during pre-budget consultations covered a number of broad themes, including economic growth, climate change, social infrastructure – particularly housing , public transit, youth employment, a national transportation strategy, local infrastructure including active transportation like cycling and walking, and green infrastructure. Of particular importance to those who offered input was improved local infrastructure to assist and improve economic growth.
Examples of local infrastructure put forward in Burlington included grade separations, LED lighting conversion and active transportation links over the QEW. The Burlington Chamber stressed the importance of small and medium –size business to not only our local economy, but national economic growth. The need to focus on local transit, and integration between municipalities was brought up a number of times. Both Oakville and Burlington were clear that they need stable and sustainable funding for infrastructure, and that the process needs to allow for transformational change in the riding.
 Oakville North Burlington MP Pam Damoff takes part in the annual polar bear dip – she’s capable of doing things differently. “I was very impressed with the high level of input I received throughout the pre-budget consultation process and was particularly pleased to see such a collaborative approach taken to addressing our local and national economic issues,” said Ms. Damoff. “I look forward to continuing to consult with constituents across my riding as the budget process continues.”
“Our government was elected on a platform that promised extensive consultation throughout the legislative process,” said Ms. Gould. “It’s positive that many of the issues stakeholders raised during our pre-budget consultations are in direct correlation with our government’s priorities which I’m confident will translate into results for Burlington and Canada.”
All input received has been shared with the Finance Minister to inform the decision-making around the budget.
Both Damoff and Gould are superb political campaigners – they have a very real capacity to listen to people and they are part of that new wave of politicians who don’t take themselves too seriously and have fun at the same time.
Both members of Parliament could have and should have held an open mike evening where people would have been invited to speak – but out there ideas and see how the meeting reacted to them.
 A grade separation is important and when this one on King |Road was completed it made a difference – but it has yet to result in any new business development along King Road They went to the stakeholders – this with vested interests – did you expect the Chamber of Commerce to advocate for a $20 minimum wage and does anyone think that Community Development Halton is going to get excited about a grade separation at a rail crossing?
There was an opportunity to have them all in the same room where they could mix it up and perhaps, just perhaps hear each other and begin to understand each other.
A missed opportunity. Maybe next time.
By Staff
February 2, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
We are indebted to John Skardius for the smart little video he sent us of the move done yesterday of the Bastedo House at the Corner of Elgin Street to Maple Street where it will get slid onto its new foundation and then under a complete refurbishment.
Click on the link
You might want to take a look at the software he used to create the video – you might find it useful.
By Mark Gillies
February 1, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
A rare event indeed. A Burlington heritage property has actually been saved from demolition to make way for a new condominium project.
 It wasn’t as good a crowd as the Santa Claus parade but there was a very healthy crowd following along Elgin Street shepherding the Bastedo House to its new home. A win for the historical community. The historic David Bastedo home was originally located at 1437 Elgin Street. Its future at one time was uncertain. Demolition could happen, unless there was a better solution. Heritage preservationists do not win many times against developers. Fortunately, the house was saved.
 The historic Bastedo residence begins it short trip down Elgin Street, with many interested onlookers. The 150 year plus residence glides past the 179 year old St Luke’s Anglican Church. It was like one old friend saying goodbye to another very old friend. Finally, the building comes to a stop at the end of Elgin Street, waiting for the foundation prep work to be finalized, before settling into its new neighbourhood; hopefully for another 150 years. The house began its move westward on Elgin Street at 10 AM on February 1, 2016 towards a second beginning. This house will be renovated and converted back to a beautiful home. It will be located on the west side of Maple Avenue at the end of Elgin Street.
The physical move was a wonderful sight to see, and drew a huge crowd; many with cameras recording this spectacular event.
 The Bastedo House sits on the float waiting to be gently shifted onto its new foundation on Maple Avenue. Although the exact age of this heritage property is not known; many believe it was built somewhere in the late 1850s or possibly in the 1860s. The house could be close to 150 – 166 years old. The Bastedo heritage home is one of the oldest homes in Burlington. The house was built when the village was known as Wellington Square. It is a local treasure.
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By Staff
